The Cards We're Dealt
by Sparkles of Youthfulness
Summary: Take the chance. Deal the cards. Play your hand. Betrayal, Love, Regret, and Hope. Ipod Shuffle Challenge Response.


_Response to the Ipod Shuffle Challenge_

Rules:

Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!

4. Do ten of these, then post them.

* * *

**What Have You Done ****– Within Temptation **

"You won't get away with this." Her voice rang out; determination and anger clear as her brown eyes glared at him. "You won't… Tobey." His name was said with disgust; with hurt and rage.

At her side Sid looked torn, pain clear in his eyes as he watched the two with indecision. He didn't know what to do. Tobey was his best friend! He couldn't fight him… His gaze slipped to his sister. But he couldn't fight her either.

Tobey watched this all with a sad disbelief. "You guys… You don't understand!" He yelled hurriedly. "I did this for you! To protect you!" He shook his head, panic beginning to fill him. "You... You have to believe me!"

But Sue just shook her head, eyes hardening. "No, Tobey. You put Chinatown in danger. YOU turned against us. And you… Have to be stopped." A weary resignation overcame her as she sunk into a battle stance, shaking her head to dispel the reluctance that followed the statement.

Tobey's eyes widened, and he turned his gaze to Sid. "Please! Please, Sid!" His voice cracked his hands shaking. He couldn't lose them! "Sid…"

But Sid looked to his sister, biting his lip. "I'm sorry, Tobey." And he fell into a similar battle stance beside his sister.

Tobey broke then, his eyes becoming wet with tears. But he shook his head, a sudden anger filling him. "Fine." He'd done everything to protect them, to make sure they were safe. And this was how they repaid him?! "Fine!" He yelled, glaring angrily at the two siblings. He growled, shaking as his fists clenched. "If you're not with me…" He raised a hand, and a chunk of the side walk suddenly broke apart into pieces, each of them floating into the air. "Then you're against me!" His eyes blazed as the projectiles launched forward, aiming to kill.

**Eye of the Tiger - Survivor**

Tobey frowned, eyeing the group around him. "No, I won't do it anymore!" He shook his head, giving them a slight glare. "I have a home now, a family! I won't shame them by… By stealing and hurting people!" He growled out, disgust filing his voice.

One figure flinched, fists clenching as they shook. "What about us, Tobey?! We're a family too!" They swept their hood off, revealing a girl of sixteen with dark red hair and pale skin. A jagged scar ran from her temple down to her cheek bone. "So, just because you get adopted, because you have a warm place to sleep at night, and three meals a day, you suddenly disown us?! You don't need us anymore?!" She sneered angrily, hurt and betrayal shining in her eyes.

The other figures all looked to her, echoing the female's anger. She seemed to be the leader of the group.

Tobey winced, unable to look her in the eyes. "You know it's not like that, Mei-Ling!" He said, a pleading tone to his voice. "I just can't do this anymore… Please, you know I love you guys…" He reached a hand out to her, carefully approaching the teen.

But it seems Mei-Ling didn't want to listen. Her eyes narrowed as she slapped his hand away. "No, Tobey. You've made your choice." The pain rang clearly in her voice, and a few tears slipped from her eyes. But she quickly composed herself, giving Tobey a final glare. "Let's go!" She barked, suddenly sprinting from the alley and turning a corner. The other hooded figures all nodded, not even sparing Tobey a glance as they dashed after her.

"No, wait!" Tobey called, chasing after them. But when he got to the corner, they had disappeared.

**Born to Lead - Hoobastank**

A young Kong Li glared at the man before him, shaking his head in disgust. "But they are beneath us! We have so much power… We could all rule this puny world!" He yelled, clenching a fist.

The old man sighed, shaking his head. "But we do not rule the world. We are not meant to. There is a balance within our world, and we must-"

Kong Li cut him off, his angry voice booming. "This balance means nothing! All that matters is power! It is us, the strong, who should rule!" He growled, shaking his head in disgust at what he perceived to be weakness and ignorance. "We deserve it!" He snarled, eyes blazing. He suddenly seemed to snap, his rage escaping him as he yelled and angrily stalked out of the room, not waiting for the old man to answer him.

**At the Beginning - Richard Marx & Donna Lewis**

The girl studied the room with something akin to awe, a smile slowly forming on her face as it all began to seem real. They'd been adopted. They had a home. And they were together. They had all been scared whenever someone might adopt them. What if they were separated? What if they never saw each other again? They had always felt this fear.

But now they'd been adopted. Now they had had a home. And they were still together.

She was snapped from her thoughts as twin shouts of excitement suddenly rang out down the hall, and a grin covered her face. It seemed as if Sid and Tobey had been shown their rooms. "Hey, guys!" Sue called, leaving the room, her room, to go find the rest of her family.

**Me and My Gang – Rascal Flats**

Sid grinned as he played his guitar, nodding his head to the beat slightly as he sang into the mic. Beside him, Tobey and Sue were dancing, huge smiles on their faces as they lost themselves in the music and completely forgot about the audience before them.

Sid's band had gotten hired to play at a party, and they had jumped at it. Of course, once Tobey had found out he'd begged Sid to let him dance on stage, and Sid eventually relented. Sue was forcefully taken along by Tobey (Sid had a hunch that he just wanted to dance with her.). But it turned out all for the best, each of them having a good time.

Sid stood in between the two, dancing as he played his guitar. It was times like these that he cherished, where he could forget all about Kong Li and magic recipes. The times where it was just him. Just him and his gang.

**I Feel You – Three Doors Down**

Sue smiled as she watched him work, a math book in her hands. She was supposed to be studying, but she just couldn't. Not with the… distraction… in the room. A small smile crossed her lips, eyes falling to gaze at the text in her arms. But only a few moments passed before she looked up once more. It was nice, to be able to just sit and watch the one she liked.

It was nice, to not have to worry about Kong Li for the moment, to be able to be a normal teen for once.

Her fists clenched suddenly, a haunted look overcoming her smile for a brief moment as her gaze quickly flashed to her book. Fighting Kong Li had become… dangerous, as of late. She worried more and more often that one of them would not walk away from the battle, or that innocent bystanders would get hurt.

She looked upwards once more, carelessly, and was startled to find he was looking back at her, a grin playing at his lips.

**Hero – Super Chick**

He watched the pen tip with a blank look in his eyes, a melancholy aura surrounding him. Would it hurt? Or would he feel better? Would the endless pain that plagued him be released? Or would he end up like he others he had hurt about, the ones who had tried it, and been unable to stop, unable to fight against the river that led them to their death…

Death.

Would anyone care, if he died? Would anyone mourn his passing, cry because he was lost from the world?

No, he decided. If anyone cared for him, where were they now? Where were they when he needed them, when he needed a kind word, or encouragement, or even just someone to listen? They certainly weren't th-

"Hey Eugene!"

His eyes shot up from the pen tip, and he blinked in surprise at the sight of the older teen walking toward him.

"Hey, sorry I haven't talked to you in a while! Busy, busy, busy…" She grinned weakly, sighing tiredly as she sat beside him

Eugene watched her curiously for a moment, a smile crossing his face as he pushed the pen away.

**Who Knew – Pink**

Sid watched with sorrowful eyes, fists clenching. He was frozen in time, eyes glued to the spot he had last seen her before she slipped away, taken from him once more.

It wasn't fair. It. Wasn't. Fair!

Kong Li ruined everything. He wanted to take over the world, sure… But even though he wasn't fighting specifically to ruin his life, he managed to do it anyways.

"Why her, you bastard…" He hissed, shaking his head. There wasn't a point to the guilt that plagued him, the anger that raced through him, begging to be released. He knew it wasn't his fault she'd been left… It had been her choice, as Kong Li had proved… But he had influenced her; brain washed her somehow…

"I'll get you back." He said, eyes falling shut as the guilt and anger gave way to grief. "I promise you."

**Memory – Sugarcult**

They both shared weak smiles, eyes falling to the floor when they couldn't hold the others gaze.

"Hey, Barney…" Sue muttered, scoffing the floor lightly with her shoe.

"Sue..." Barney said shortly, flexing his finger nervously.

They were both silent, waiting for the other to break the ice. Waiting for the other to say what needed to be said, but was something that neither truly wanted.

"I'm breaking up with you." They chorused together, surprise crossing both their faces as they stared at each other, stunned.

"I…" Sue broke eye contact to stare at the floor once more. "I love you, Barney, but… All we do is fight…" Her strong voice fell to a whisper, her body tense as she finally looked up into his eyes again.

Barney nodded slowly at her words. "I know." His voice was tinged with sadness and regret. "I love you too, Sue." He hugged her suddenly, clutching her small frame as if his life depended on it.

A tear fell down Sue's cheek as she hugged him back, kissing his cheek lightly. "Goodbye, Barney." She whispered, slowly pulling form his grasps. She turned around and walked away, many more tears joining the first as she resisted the urge to look back a final time.

Barney watched her go with a heavy heart, a few of his own tears escaping him. "Look back." He whispered, willing for it to happen. "Please, look back."

But Sue didn't look back.

**Not Really Good – Eyeshine!!**

Sid stumbled into the restaurant with a groan. He looked around blearily, slowly making his way through the kitchen and down a hall, entering his room with a sigh. He could hear Tobey snoring, and he flicked the light on with a yawn as he closed the door. He moved to pull his shirt off but paused, his eyes falling upon the sleeping form of a girl. In his room. On his BED. But before he could begin to panic, the door opened, revealing Nana.

"I'm sorry Sid, she fell asleep waiting for you three." Nana smiled, nodding toward the sleeping girl. "I'll phone her parents and tell them she'll be home soon." She quickly disappeared from the door way, heading to the kitchen.

"But who-" He paused, grinning slightly as he shook his head at his stupidity. "Oh." Now he recognized her. Of course, he should have figured it was her. Who else would wait four hours after their proper meeting time for him to show up?

He approached the sleeping figure carefully, wary of her hands as he moved to wake her. She was known for punching people when being woken, and Sid had had many a first-hand account of its credibility.

"Ash, wake up."

The girl merely moaned in response, snuggling deeper into his pillow.

Sid sighed, taking a seat beside the girl as he yawned. He couldn't just let her stay asleep here. Her parents would worry. "C'mon Ash, ya gotta wake up…" He yawned again, blinking sleepily. "Assshhhhh…" He moaned tiredly. He wanted to sleep, dang it! "… Maybe I'll just… rest my eyes… " His eyes slowly drooped, and he lay down behind the girl, closer to the wall so as to give her more room. He tugged the pillow over slightly so they could share it, and quickly fell asleep beside her.

A voice could be heard, drifting from the kitchen and into the hall.

"Yes, Ash is fine! She just fell asleep here. It's rather late, so would it be alright if she stayed here for the night? I don't want to send her out by herself at this time of night, and I just don't have the heart to wake her!" Nana smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Yes, of course! I'll send her home tomorrow then. Good night!" She hung up the phone, a small giggle escaping her as she exited the kitchen. She paused outside the door to Sid and Tobey's room, giggling one more at the sight.

Sid and Ash lay together on Sid's bed, both snoring slightly. In just a few minutes it seemed Sid's arms had found Ash, for he had an arm wrapped around her, pulling her toward him. His chin rested on the top of her head as he held her protectively. Ash had an arm wrapped around Sid as well, and her head rested on his shoulder. There was a peaceful smile on her face.

Nana smiled, shaking her head. It seemed as if there was another potential pair to be found. Now if only either Barney or Tobey would stop being so blind… "But that is a match for another day." She told herself, closing the door as she left the room and headed to her own.

* * *

Okay, obviously I cheated a little. xD There was no way I could write most of these in three minutes... The long ones took like... eight minutes... So what! They wouldn't have been as good if they hadn't been longer!! -flails- ... Yeah, anyways, I'll go through and explain 'em a bit!

**What Have You Done** - In this one, Tobey has betrayed Sid and Sue somehow, and gained magical powers in the process! Now, he didn't nessecarily join up with Kong Li or anything... But he did something bad! I'll leave it to your imaginations.

**Eye of the Tiger** - Now, this one is a random something I made up about Tobey's past. He was in a sort of gang of ragtag children, and they stole and stuff to get what they wanted. Then Nana adopted him, and he decided he didn't want to steal anymore. But Mei-Ling thinks Tobey has betrayed her! (Her name, FYI, is my own little reference to a character of Card Captors, or Card Captor Sakura, though the spelling is different, because I thought the name might suit her.)

**Born to Lead** - It's about Kong Li, and how he thinks people with power should rule... He's arguing with some nameless old guy... xD

**At the Beginning - **A little thing about's Sue's thoughts the first time she came to Wu's Garden, after Nana adopted her, Sid and Tobey.

Me and My Gang - Just a little thing about Sid being normal with his friends... I don't like this one very much...

**I Feel You** - Sue likes someone in this one, but it's left up to the reader on who... All you know is that they work there, so it could be Tobey or Barney... But YOU don't know if it's set in the future, so it could be ANYONE!! -cackles-

**Hero -** This was written mostly just for the song, which I love... Eugene was gonna cut himself, because he's really lonely and he doesn't think anyone cares about him... But Sue makes him feel better! Yay Sue!

**Who Knew **- Sid lost someone to Kong Li in this one, but it's not Sue... It MIGHT be the person in TPWP, but it might just be some random... Up to you.

**Memory** - This one made me so sad! I almost started crying! Even at the end, when Barney was saying "Look back." I was saying it too! I wanted her to just look back and see Barney, and then run into his arms and stay with him... But I knew she wasn't going to look back. T-T

**Not Really Good** - I HAD to use an Eyeshine song, it least once... And then it turned into this HUGE thing about Sid, and an OC of a friend of mine, Onsta! (I totally love Ash, and I hope I get to use more of her, Onsta! -nudgenudge-) You should go look at her artsy stuff. Seriously. She's at the Official Three Delivery Forum!

And... I'm done now! Review please! :D


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